Building the Ofoten Railway

The story of how the Ofoten Railway came to be is quite remarkable. The rich iron ore deposits of northern Sweden had been known for centuries. But with the Industrial Revolution, demand for iron grew rapidly across Europe. The challenge was transportation. The valuable ore around Kiruna was far from the coast, and a reliable way of bringing it to market was needed. Narvik offered the solution. Its sheltered, ice-free harbour made it an ideal place for shipping iron ore onwards to Europe. But first, a railway had to be built through the mountains to connect the mines with the coast. Construction took place in two main periods. The first became known as the English Period, when a British company began building the railway from Narvik harbour towards Katterat. The company initially called the harbour Victoriahavn, but the ambitious project ran into financial difficulties. The company went bankrupt in 1889, and construction came to a halt. Work began again in 1898, this time as a joint state railway project between Norway and Sweden. In 1902, the railway connecting Narvik and Kiruna was finally completed. On the 15th of November that year, the tracks were joined and the first train travelled along the completed line. The Ofoten Railway had become a reality – connecting the iron ore fields of northern Sweden with the harbour of Narvik and markets across the world.